CINCINNATI (AP) ― Before the game, Dusty Baker didn’t know who his closer would be. The Cincinnati Reds manager’s eventual choice turned out just right.

Sam LeCure overcame two ninth-inning hits and earned the save in the Reds’ 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Choo Shin-soo scored the decisive run in the eighth inning on Arizona’s fourth wild pitch of the game.

Choo scored both Cincinnati runs, helping the Reds to their third win in the four-game series. Cincinnati (73-55) improved to a season-high 18 games over .500 and increased its lead over Arizona to seven games in the race for the National League’s second wild-card playoff spot.

Choo singled to lead off the eighth against reliever Eury De La Rosa (0-1) and moved to second when De La Rosa’s pickoff attempt rolled away from first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Kershaw baffles Marlins

MIAMI (AP) ― Pitching with a big lead in the eighth inning, Clayton Kershaw bounced a curve in the dirt, then spun in disgust and kicked the mound as if he had just lost the game.

Kershaw is unaccustomed even to one-pitch lapses, and he overcame the occasional difficulty he had Thursday, pitching eight innings to help the Los Angeles Dodgers win their third game in a row by beating the Miami Marlins 6-0.

Minnesota 7, Detroit 6

NY Yankees 5, Toronto 3

Washington 5, Chicago Cubs 4

Philadelphia 5, Colorado 4

Chicago White Sox 4, Kansas City 3

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 2

Pittsburgh 10, San Francisco 5